The Surrounded Literary Map

visit
The Surrounded Literary Map
at
missoulapubliclibrary/thesurrounded

The Surrounded Literary Map is a web-based resource created by Missoula Public Library in conjunction with the 2009 One Book selection, D'Arcy McNickle's The Surrounded.

The purpose of the project is to make the novel accessible in new ways to students and aficionados of Montana literature and culture. While The Surrounded is often considered a classic of modern Native American literature—a prototype even—in academic circles, this and other works by D'Arcy McNickle are relatively unknown to a larger audience. At the same time, Montana's recent commitment to a constitutional mandate for Indian Education for All makes the case that indigenous culture deserves greater attention. The web-based literary map—freely accessible and potentially cross-referenced with a myriad of other internet resources—is one way to address this, and will potentially serve as a model for creating awareness of other Native writers, texts and issues.

The literary map pinpoints locations on the Flathead Reservation and surrounding area that correspond to settings in the novel. Each point features a passage from the text, a photo of the site, historical information, and, if available, links to other relevant web based information. The map includes a concise bio of D'Arcy McNickle, as well as a bibliography. The Library plans to promote the map at the events held in conjunction with One Book Montana and the Festival of the Book (October 21-24, 2009). They will also promote it through various Library channels: at their book discussions; via their newsletter and website; in their weekly Missoulian column; and with a D'Arcy McNickle "power" display in their central gathering area.

Missoula Public Library staff researched and designed the content for the literary map. The staff of the D'Arcy McNickle Library at Salish Kootenai College served as consultants. Many of the historical photos on the site were provided by the Archives & Special Collections department at UM-Missoula's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. The project was supported in part via an opportunity grant from Humanities Montana. Web development was done by Jason Neal.